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Whether it is your first or 15th cruise vacation, it pays to get a few insider tips ahead of your next ocean trip. Say bon voyage with a few simple suggestions from Colleen Saltys, an elite cruise specialist and international consultant with AMA Travel at Crowfoot Centre in Calgary. She shares her tips designed to make that […]

Let’s be honest: Calgary’s shoppers have never really been hurting for access to luxury goods. Retailers realized early on that Calgary’s “Texas north” nickname translated to money to spend and an insatiable hunger for designer goods. We still like our polar fleece and North Face gear (we are mountain people, after all), but the large population of […]

It was not that long ago that if an auto dealership offered free coffee, a comfortable place to sit and promised to wash your car after every oil change, it was considered luxury service. Today, the bar has been set much higher, both in terms of the dealerships themselves and the vehicles they sell. For […]

Rural communities from across Alberta offered up their best sales pitches Wednesday in an effort to spur off-the-beaten-track tourism development. At a forum in Calgary, dozens of investment opportunities — from ski hill expansions to campground developments to resorts and restaurants — were touted. Behind each pitch was a rural community looking to draw investment dollars into their region and grow their local tourism industry.

CALGARY - Hotel Arts has completed a multi-million dollar makeover for its rooms and is planning for a future major expansion and development on its site in the Beltline neighbourhood. Mark Wilson, vice-president and general manager of the Hotel Arts Group, said the boutique hotel, at the corner of 12th Avenue and 1st Street S.W., underwent a $7-million renovation to it guestrooms and corridors. Of the 185 rooms in the hotel, 157, the entire tower, received a full makeover.

CALGARY - A new report released Thursday by EY says Alberta and British Columbia will continue to show the strongest sales results during the Christmas shopping period this year. The report said overall Canadian holiday retail sales are expected to grow by 3.3 per cent over the “comparatively weak” 2013 holiday season.

CALGARY - Calgary’s booming luxury home market has already set an annual record for MLS sales with more than two months left this year. According to Mike Fotiou, associate broker with First Place Realty, as of October 18, there were 732 properties in the city that sold for $1 million or more. That surpassed the annual record of 726 which was established in 2013. The previous record before last year was 544 in 2012.

CALGARY - A number of high-end vehicles were on display Friday at the future home of the luxury auto mall Meadows Mile. The area on the ridge at Blackfoot Trail S.E. and Heritage Drive will become the home of Canada’s first luxury vehicle destination. Four luxury dealerships are confirmed to set up shop there with brands including Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini, Lotus, Porsche, Rolls-Royce and MINI.

CALGARY - All 50 Canadian stores operated by XS Cargo Company, including two in Calgary and eight in Alberta, are going out of business after the discount retail chain filed for protection against creditors in July. “Unfortunately, efforts to restructure the business did not result in an economically sustainable model, so the company determined that liquidation was the only option at this juncture,” said Bradley Snyder, executive managing director of Tiger Capital Group, which was appointed by the company to run the going-out-of-business sale, in a statement.

It’s not only businesses that are being negatively affected by recent changes to federal rules governing temporary foreign workers. Arts organizations across the country, from ballet and symphony to opera and theatre, are also affected, in varying degrees.

An non-binding plebiscite in Cardston next month could be the first step toward the end of a century-old ban on liquor sales in the predominantly Mormon town. But convoluted provincial legislation could still leave thirsty locals in the southern Alberta town high and dry for years to come.

Visa costs for foreign ski instructors will be a significant burden for Alberta ski resorts adapting to stricter rules for hiring temporary foreign workers, industry members say. Employment Minister Jason Kenney announced tougher rules for temporary foreign workers earlier this year after abuses of the program in the hospitality sector were revealed.

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